Mario Estrada Martinez is sought by federal authorities for illegal re-entry into the U.S.

Mario Estrada Martinez is sought by federal authorities for illegal re-entry into the U.S.

CORPUS CHRISTI - A private detention facility in Robstown faces frequent, unannounced state inspections for 90 days after its inadvertent release of a convicted sex offender.

The Coastal Bend Detention Center did not violate state standards when Mario Estrada Martinez, 31, an undocumented immigrant from Matamoros, Mexico, mistakenly was released, but it is at risk of falling out of state compliance after corrections officers did not follow release procedures, according to a letter from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards obtained by the Caller-Times through an open records request.

In November, federal authorities asked the prison run by Lafayette, La.-based LCS Corrections to release Mario Estrada Antonio to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. Instead Estrada Martinez, who was awaiting sentencing for illegal re-entry to the U.S., was released and deported. He was gone for three weeks before LCS corrections staff figured out they released the wrong prisoner.

In Mexico, where both prisoners are from, the middle name serves as last name, and the last name is the person's maternal surname.

"Certainly an improperly released inmate is a liability to all parties involved," Adan Muñoz, the jail commission's executive director, wrote in the letter.

Prison Warden Elberto "Bert" Bravo said an investigation is ongoing and focused on four employees.

"We are trying to narrow it down to where it happened," Bravo said. "It was human error. The procedures we had in place, they failed to follow the procedures."

No other county jail or private correctional facility holding county or out-of-state inmates is at risk, commission officials said. Being at risk means any member of the jail commission staff may make frequent, unannounced visits to the facility during the next 90 days. If no violations or noncompliance issues are noted, the facility will be removed from the at-risk list.

"No one from point A to point Z ever verified his identity during several stages of release. By more than one detention officer, all the way to ICE, his identity was never confirmed," Muñoz said Friday.

Estrada Martinez had a prior conviction for a sexual offense, according to U.S. marshals. He was convicted in Iowa for sexual abuse and sentenced to 10 years in December 1999, according to court filings. He was paroled in 2002.

U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack issued a warrant for Estrada Martinez's arrest when the mishap was made public. He has not been rearrested.